Current Employment Position(s)

Partner

Lawyer Overview

Jim Johnson is experienced in a wide range of litigation matters, particularly product liability matters requiring the presentation of complex scientific and technical evidence. He has played a major role in Jones Day's national coordination of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.'s smoking and health litigation and has served as lead counsel for RJR in venues ranging from New Hampshire to Florida, successfully obtaining defense jury verdicts, most recently in a consolidated trial in Memphis, Tennessee. He has also successfully defended Brush Wellman, a producer of beryllium, in a series of cases filed in Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and Georgia by customer employees claiming lung injuries from exposure to airborne beryllium. In addition, Jim has substantial experience in medical monitoring, class action litigation, securities and takeover litigation, antitrust proceedings before courts and agencies, and administrative law litigation involving challenges to agency procedures and determinations.

He is a member of various state and local bar associations, including the Product Liability Section of the State Bar of Georgia, and he has authored the Georgia chapter of Aspen's Product Liability Desk Reference: A Fifty-State Compendium. He has made presentations on the trial of a product liability case from the defense perspective to several CLE meetings sponsored by the Product Liability Section of the State Bar of Georgia.

Areas of Practice

• Product Liability & Tort Litigation
• Product Response Team

Representative Cases

• Cantley v. Lorillard Tobacco Co., Inc., et al.r
• Carter-Mondale Reelection Committee, Inc. v. Federal Election Commission, Ronald Reagan, and Reagan for President General Election Committee
• Connor v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.
• Cruz Vargas v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. (218 F. Supp. 2d 109), aff'd. 348 F.3d 271
• Gianitsis v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., et al.
• In re B.F. Goodrich Co.
• Liggett Group Inc. v. Engle, 853 So.2d 434 (Fla. 3d DCA 2003); Engle v. Liggett Group Inc., No. SC03-1856 (Fla. 2004)
• Marathon Oil Co. v. Mobil Corp.
• Marathon Oil Company v. James Earl Carter (492 R. Supp. 614)
• Morgan, et al. v. Brush Wellman, Inc.
• National Black Media Coalition v. FCC and Westinghouse Broadcasting and Cable, Inc.
• National Heritage, Inc. v. Pacific Standard Life Insurance Co.
• Newcomb v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. (Cir. Ct. Shelby Cty., Tenn.)
• Radol, et al. v. Thomas, et al.
• The Hanna Mining Co. v. Norcen Energy Resources
• Viola v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., et al.

West Practice Categories

Alcoholic Beverages, Apparel, Asbestos, Chemicals & Cosmetics, Firearms, Food & Agricultural Products, Machinery & Tools, Medical Products & Devices, Motor Vehicle Defects, Pharmaceutical Products, Products Liability Law, Recreational Products, Tobacco

Bar Admissions

• District of Columbia
• Georgia

Education

• Case Western Reserve Univ

Published Works

• Georgia chapter of the Aspen publication Business Torts: A Fifty-State Guide, 2008

Address

1420 Peachtree Street, N.E.,
Suite 800
Atlanta, GA 30309-3053

Phones

1.404.581.8707 (Business Phone)

Faxes

1.404.581.8330 (Business Fax)

Emails

Contact Us (Business Email)

Websites

http://www.jonesday.com